“he”/“him” A Canadian Prairie Mennonite from the '70s & '80s, a Preacher’s Kid, slowly recovering from a hemorrhagic stroke. I am not — yet — in a 12-Step Program.
Friday, June 17, 2005
New Music From Ry Cooder
Chavez Ravine
And it's getting great reviews. (But we knew that, already.)
Hey! I thought you didn't read the rev's until you had a chance to take it in yourself? (Oh, and Happy 40th. I know you wanted to keep it quiet, my invite never arrived). Mr. WP, I concur with the reviews, wherever they are. Picked this up on Tuesday, the release date. EXTREMELY well produced. A very thick sound which, for me, translates to many repeat playings due to the "hidden" things that are underlaid in the recording. Favorite tracks: "Poor Man's Shangri-La"- opening piece that introduces a theme and also the subject matter of pretty much the balance of the album. Nice tight guitar licks. Mr. Cooder's still got it!
"Los Chuchos Suaves"-Like it, still formulating why. "3 Cool Cats"- Funny song reminiscent of earlier songs like "Trouble you can't fool me" and "The very thing that makes you Rich makes me Poor" from "Bop till you Drop"
"El U.F.O. Cayo"- A long (8:21) song with a lot of spoken word, which on the 3rd listening gets a little too much. However, when there's no talking, the song is a treat.
CD is from Nonesuch Records, which in MHO, is the best record company in the world as far as production quality, packaging quality, and artist diverstiy goes. Most of the songs are in Spanish so the accompanying booklet that's tucked in with the cd offers English & Spanish translations of the songs. Cooder's son, Joachim joins in on most songs and the vocals by Lalo Guerrero, Little Wille G, & Mr. Cooder, his very own self, offer intimacy, humour, sadness...the whole human condition.
It's my choice for best cd of the year, at this point. It's a necessity, and as Ersi Arvizu sings in Soy Luz y Sombra, Quien podra negarnos, lo que nos falta?
Thanks for the b-day wishes. As for reading reviews, exceptions must be allowed for, of course - after all, I always read yours. The beauty of MetaCritic, though, is their snippet-selection. Unless you click on the links below the snippet, you will never get an air-tight argument setting up residence in your consciousness and tapping you on the shoulder whenever you catch yourself enjoying a critically reviled book.
There is a rather tasteless - or perhaps apt - commercial playing at the MetaCritic site (at the moment, at least). And being a Dodgers fan who visits the Ravine occasionally, it is quite revealing that I had heard the story of the clearout long before I ever visited. This to me speaks volumes about this city where nothing lasts. Indeed,my own house and its tract, being almost exactly as old as me, is nowadays referred to as "quaint", putting it almost on a par with the Missions.
I have no Cooder albums, but it has long been at the back of my mind to purchase some. I can't quite explain why it has taken so long, other than my being sidetracked by the shiney things of the record store.
4 comments:
Hey! I thought you didn't read the rev's until you had a chance to take it in yourself? (Oh, and Happy 40th. I know you wanted to keep it quiet, my invite never arrived).
Mr. WP, I concur with the reviews, wherever they are. Picked this up on Tuesday, the release date. EXTREMELY well produced. A very thick sound which, for me, translates to many repeat playings due to the "hidden" things that are underlaid in the recording.
Favorite tracks:
"Poor Man's Shangri-La"- opening piece that introduces a theme and also the subject matter of pretty much the balance of the album. Nice tight guitar licks. Mr. Cooder's still got it!
"Los Chuchos Suaves"-Like it, still formulating why.
"3 Cool Cats"- Funny song reminiscent of earlier songs like "Trouble you can't fool me" and "The very thing that makes you Rich makes me Poor" from "Bop till you Drop"
"El U.F.O. Cayo"- A long (8:21) song with a lot of spoken word, which on the 3rd listening gets a little too much. However, when there's no talking, the song is a treat.
CD is from Nonesuch Records, which in MHO, is the best record company in the world as far as production quality, packaging quality, and artist diverstiy goes. Most of the songs are in Spanish so the accompanying booklet that's tucked in with the cd offers English & Spanish translations of the songs. Cooder's son, Joachim joins in on most songs and the vocals by Lalo Guerrero, Little Wille G, & Mr. Cooder, his very own self, offer intimacy, humour, sadness...the whole human condition.
It's my choice for best cd of the year, at this point. It's a necessity, and as Ersi Arvizu sings in Soy Luz y Sombra,
Quien podra negarnos, lo que nos falta?
Thanks for the b-day wishes. As for reading reviews, exceptions must be allowed for, of course - after all, I always read yours. The beauty of MetaCritic, though, is their snippet-selection. Unless you click on the links below the snippet, you will never get an air-tight argument setting up residence in your consciousness and tapping you on the shoulder whenever you catch yourself enjoying a critically reviled book.
A birthday? Hmmm. Life begins.
There is a rather tasteless - or perhaps apt - commercial playing at the MetaCritic site (at the moment, at least). And being a Dodgers fan who visits the Ravine occasionally, it is quite revealing that I had heard the story of the clearout long before I ever visited. This to me speaks volumes about this city where nothing lasts. Indeed,my own house and its tract, being almost exactly as old as me, is nowadays referred to as "quaint", putting it almost on a par with the Missions.
I have no Cooder albums, but it has long been at the back of my mind to purchase some. I can't quite explain why it has taken so long, other than my being sidetracked by the shiney things of the record store.
Just picked up my copy yesterday, and I'm with Darko: this is likely to be the most played CD for the next few months.
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